New EU cookie legislation went into effect May 25, 2012 that requires all users to give websites their consent to install cookies and track user information.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file, typically made up of letters and numbers, that is automatically saved to a device when a user accesses a website. These cookies are then read by the originating website on each subsequent visit. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognize a user’s device and their preferences or settings where applicable. For more information, you can refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie.

What effect does this new law have on CakeMail?

To be compliant with this new law, we have introduced a new setting in the administration panel (under Your site settings -> General settings) that lets resellers activate or deactivate this setting as required. When activated, individual users will have to accept the application’s cookies policy before signing in. By default, this setting is deactivated as it only applies to a small segment of users.

When users click on “Change settings”, they are presented with a popup that provides more explanation, as well as a way for them to manage which cookies they accept. These cookies are separated into three categories: Strictly Necessary, Functionality and Targeting. If a user refuses the cookies classified under Strictly necessary, the application will simply not work.

If users change their mind about which cookies they would like to allow, we have also added easy access to cookie settings in the footer of the application, as in the example below:

But wait… there’s more!

We’ve also added the possibility for resellers to add a link pointing to their privacy policy in the footer of the application. This policy will need to be hosted on the reseller’s own website, and helps provide legal information to clients.

These features are now available in CakeMail and we hope you’ll find them useful. For detailed information, please read our Knowledge Base Article. If you have any questions, feel free to contact CakeMail Support or leave a comment below.